Odysseus and Polyphemus

The Story

During the journey home from Troy, Odysseus and his men reached the land of the Cyclopes. There they discovered a cave stocked with cheeses, sheep and goats. The cave belonged to Polyphemus, a giant Cyclops and son of Poseidon.

Odysseus' companions wanted to take supplies and leave, but Odysseus chose to remain. He wanted to meet the owner of the cave and hoped to receive the hospitality and guest-gift expected between host and stranger in the Greek world.

When Polyphemus returned, he drove his animals inside and sealed the cave with an enormous stone. Odysseus introduced himself as a traveller returning from Troy and appealed to the customs of hospitality.

Polyphemus rejected that appeal. He declared that the Cyclopes did not fear Zeus or concern themselves with the rules followed by ordinary Greek communities.

Why did Polyphemus attack Odysseus and his men? The Greeks had entered his cave without permission, but the episode is more than a simple story of an angry owner confronting intruders. In Homer's Odyssey, Polyphemus deliberately rejects the obligations of hospitality that Odysseus expects from a host. Instead of feeding and protecting his guests, he seizes two of the men, kills them and eats them.

Polyphemus continued killing and eating members of the crew. Odysseus therefore faced a difficult problem. He could attack the Cyclops while he slept, but killing him immediately would leave the Greeks trapped inside the cave. The stone across the entrance was too heavy for them to move.

This is why Odysseus did not simply kill Polyphemus. He needed the Cyclops alive long enough to open the cave.

Odysseus devised another plan. He offered Polyphemus powerful wine and encouraged him to drink until he became intoxicated.

The Cyclops then asked Odysseus his name.

Odysseus answered that his name was Nobody.

The deception was carefully chosen. Once Polyphemus had fallen into a drunken sleep, Odysseus and his companions heated and sharpened a wooden stake. Together they drove it into the Cyclops' single eye.

Why did Odysseus blind Polyphemus rather than kill him? Blinding removed the immediate threat while still leaving Polyphemus capable of moving the stone that blocked the entrance. Odysseus' plan depended on escaping only after the Cyclops opened the cave for his livestock.

Polyphemus screamed in pain and called to the neighbouring Cyclopes for help. They asked who was attacking him.

Polyphemus answered that Nobody was killing him.

The other Cyclopes therefore concluded that no attacker was present and left him to his suffering. Odysseus' false name had turned Polyphemus' own words against him.

The next morning the blinded Cyclops opened the cave so that his sheep could leave. Knowing that the Greeks might try to escape among the animals, Polyphemus felt across their backs as they passed him.

Odysseus had anticipated this. He tied his surviving companions beneath the sheep, where Polyphemus' hands would not find them. Odysseus himself escaped beneath the largest ram.

The Greeks reached their ship. Odysseus' plan had worked.

But the episode did not end with the escape.

As the ship moved away, Odysseus taunted Polyphemus. His companions urged him to stop, but Odysseus wanted the Cyclops to know who had defeated him.

Why did Odysseus reveal his real name to Polyphemus? The decision reflects the other side of his heroic character. Odysseus values intelligence and concealment, but he also wants recognition for his achievements. The man who survived by calling himself Nobody could not resist announcing that Odysseus of Ithaca was responsible.

That revelation had enormous consequences.

Polyphemus now knew the true identity of the man who had blinded him. He called upon his father Poseidon and asked the sea god to punish Odysseus.

Why was Poseidon angry with Odysseus? Polyphemus was Poseidon's son. Once Odysseus revealed his name, the Cyclops could direct his father's anger toward a specific enemy. Poseidon's hostility then became one of the great obstacles preventing Odysseus from returning safely to Ithaca.

Polyphemus prayed that Odysseus would never reach home, or, if fate required his return, that he would arrive late, alone and after suffering greatly.

The curse anticipates the shape of the rest of the Odyssey. Odysseus eventually reaches Ithaca, but only after losing his ships and companions and enduring years of further wandering.

The Polyphemus episode therefore contains both Odysseus' greatest strength and one of his most damaging weaknesses. His intelligence creates the Nobody trick, the blinding plan and the escape beneath the sheep. His desire to claim credit for the victory gives Polyphemus the information needed to call Poseidon against him.

Odysseus defeats the Cyclops through cunning, but his pride turns a successful escape into a much longer struggle to reach home.